Washing-machine



C. D. LA PORT.

WASHING MACHINE.

No. 898,498. Patented `19.11.28, 1889..

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@mi-1420009.- 314110929160@ I @Ammin-W l A HRW u PETERS. vnommxmgmplwr.wasmgm 'nu UNITED STATES ATnNT @Finca cnARLEs o. LA PORT, or CARSON,IOWA.

WASHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent No. 396,498, dated January22, 1889.

A Application tiled March 29, 1888. Serial No. 268,870. (No model.)

To all whom it may conca/vt.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES D. LA PORT, a citizen of the 'llnitedStates, residing at Carson, in the county of Pottawattamie and State ofIowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in\\'ashing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inwashing-machines; and it consists in a certain novel combination andarrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth in thespecification, and be pointed out in the claims.

The object of this invention is to provide a cheap and simplewashing-machine and one whose parts shall be so constructed that theycannot readilT get out of order;

Another obj ect of my invention is to provide a washing-machine of thatclass whose sides and bottom are provided with protuberances soconstructed that the action of the agitator over the clothes, inconnection with the protuberances upon the sides and bottom, shallsimulate the action of a persons knuckles upon an article between thehands and the wash-board ordinarily used.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specication, and onwhich similar letters of reference indicate the same or correspondingfeatures, Figure l is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through myimproved washing-machine, and Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional viewthrough the same.

The body of my washing-machine consists of the sides A and B, the endpieces, D E and F G, and the bottom H, the said body being supportedupon the diverging legs I I, the same being united at their upper endsand constructed to form bearings for the rockshaft J, one end of whichis provided with a crank, K, and handle L. At a point just beyond thebearings the rock-shaft descends somewhat and is provided with diverging bars M, placed near one another, and on said bars I place a number ofballs, N, the bar or rod M extending only a part of the way through thelowest ball, O, said ball being rigidly and securely fastened thereon,so as to present a smooth surface to the clothes which shall be engagedby said bars. The rod extends entirely through the other balls, and theyare free to move upon it, being held in place by a spiral spring, P,which surrounds the upper portion of the rod and presses from the.rockshaft against the said balls.

The object of constructing my agitator in this manner is, first, thatthe diverging rods may catch the clothes between them and thusthoroughly rub them against the semispherical balls upon the sides,ends, and floor of the machine, and, secondly, to allow these balls onthe agitator to play along the rod by reason of the spring,'and to turnalso upon it, so that the action of the agitator upon the clothes will,as nearly as possible, simulate that of the knuckles on a persons hand.It will be observed that I may construct these balls of rubber, wood,celluloid, or any other suitable substance, though I find by actualtrial that either wood or rubber gives satisfactory results. Thoseboards nearest the ends, but composing the top, or rather a portion ofthe top, of the machine, it will be noticed, are inclined downwardlyfrom their outer ends toward the center of the machine, the purpose ofwhich is to allow of the dripping off 'of the suds and water splashedagainst them, and to one of these inclined boards I secure, by hinges orotherwise, as may be desired, a door, Q, and near its farther end Iprovide the sides of the machine on its upper edge with thumb-clamps R,so that when the door is closed and the thumb-clamps turned said doorwill be firmly held in place.

I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to the preciseconstruction herein shown and described, for I may somewhat vary itwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, the essentialfeatures of which are, first, the providing an agitator with a series ofballs capable of movement both around the rod upon which they aremounted and also in a vertical plane up and down said rod, and,secondly, the providing those portions of the interior of the machinewith which the agitator comes in contact with similar balls orsemispherical knobs, S, against which the clothes are rubbed when themachine is in action.

Instead of the crank used to rock the rockshaft, I may employ a lever orany of the usual means for obtaining motion.

ICO

Having thus fully described my invention, what Iclairn as new, anddesire 13o secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. l'n a washing-macl1ine, the combination, with the body, of anagitator having arms extending out therefrom, balls rigidly secured onthe ends of said arms, and a series of balls on the arms above the rigidballs adapted to revolve and move vertically thereon, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a washing-machine, the combination, with the suds-box havinghemispherical projections on its 'unici-faces, ot' an agitator hav-

